Oil nears $120 as as Iran escalates retaliation with Gulf energy strikes

Iran stepped up attacks on Gulf energy facilities Thursday in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its vital South Pars gas field, as oil prices surged with the war entering its 20th day.

Brent futures jumped to around $119 a barrel at around 5:15 a.m. Eastern Time.

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that an Iranian drone crashed into Saudi Aramco’s Samref refinery in Yanbu on the Red Sea, with damage still being assessed, while a separate ballistic missile targeting the port was intercepted. Yanbu has become the Gulf’s only remaining oil export outlet after Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz.

In Kuwait, the national oil company said an Iranian drone strike hit an operational unit at the Mina Abdullah refinery, sparking a fire, while a separate attack earlier in the day caused another blaze at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery. No injuries were reported.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said the Habshan gas facilities and the Bab field were shut down early Thursday due to “falling debris” from intercepted missiles.

The escalation follows Israel’s strike a day earlier on Iran’s South Pars field — one of its most critical energy assets — triggering retaliatory missile fire on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG facility and evacuation warnings around Gulf energy infrastructure.

US President Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account Wednesday evening that Washington “knew nothing” about Israel’s attack on the Iranian gas field but threatened to “massively blow up the entirety” of South Pars if Iran continued targeting Qatari energy facilities.

In Lebanon, Israel carried out a series of heavy airstrikes across the south Thursday, as clashes continued between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces in the southern town of Khiam, where troops have been advancing in recent days.